How GIS Has Changed Our World

Today Google and the World Bank announced a collaborative agreement aimed to improve disaster preparedness and development efforts in countries around the world.

Under this agreement, the World Bank will act as a conduit to make Google Map Maker source data more widely and easily available to government organizations in the event of major disasters, improving planning, management, and monitoring of public health provisions and other services.

This free, web-based mapping tool called Google Map Maker enables citizens to directly participate in the creation of maps by contributing their local knowledge. Once approved, those additions are then reflected on Google Maps and Google Earth for others to see around the world.

Including detailed maps of more than 150 countries and regions, the Google Map Maker identifies locations like schools, hospitals, roads, settlements and water points that are critical for relief workers and public health professions to know about in times of crisis. It will also be useful for planning purposes, as governments and their development partners can use the information to monitor public services, infrastructure and development projects; make them more transparent for NGOs, researchers, and individual citizens; and more effectively identify areas of greater risk for assistance before a disaster strikes.